


Gardens of Midnight

by jardinsdeminuit



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Angst, Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Behavior, Compilation, Death, Dubious Consent, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, Light Bondage, Non-Explicit Sex, Revenge, Sadism, Smut, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:54:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 12,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jardinsdeminuit/pseuds/jardinsdeminuit
Summary: A collection of short prompt-based stories from my Tumblr, @jardinsdeminuit. Mostly angst and a little fluff with all the usual nastiness mixed in. More characters and tags to be added as I update!One story per chapter. Check the index if you want to find a particular character!
Relationships: Komori Yui/Mukami Kou, Komori Yui/Mukami Yuuma, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Ayato, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Laito, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Reiji, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Shuu, Komori Yui/Sakamaki Subaru, Komori Yui/Tsukinami Carla, Komori Yui/Tsukinami Shin, Mukami Kou/Reader, Mukami Yuuma/Reader, Sakamaki Ayato/Reader, Sakamaki Laito/Reader, Sakamaki Reiji/Reader, Sakamaki Shuu/Reader, Sakamaki Subaru/Reader, Tsukinami Carla/Reader, Tsukinami Shin/Reader
Comments: 52
Kudos: 126





	1. Ayato Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayato gets jealous.

Ayato lay on the roof the school, staring down at the pair of figures on the ground below.

 _I never would've thought she'd end up with someone else,_ he thought to himself. Especially not a human.

They did look happy together, he had to admit. Yui in her school uniform, hands clasped in front of her skirt while she listened avidly to the one talking in front of her. Tanaka was his name, a second year student who played on the same basketball as him. Ayato had never taken an interest in him. Until recently, of course.

Tanaka suddenly made a gesture with his hands, causing Yui to break into laughter. Ayato felt his fingers ball into fists. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Yui laugh. Certainly never by his doing. Back home, she always looked so miserable, resigning herself to her books or school work until he or one of his brothers sought her out. Right now, though, she was practically glowing.

Ayato had never cared about it that much before. He'd always placed his own happiness above that of others, and found that anyone who claimed to do otherwise was either stupid or a liar. In fact, he even got a kick out of watching her cry.

So, why was her smile pissing him off so much right now?

Clicking his tongue, he pushed himself to his feet. He couldn't stand watching anymore. Luckily, they were heading away now in the direction of the cafeteria. As they walked, Tanaka reached out a hand and entwined his fingers with Yui's.

It was the breaking point for Ayato.

Yui may have found happiness away from him, but it was with a human. And humans were fragile. Humans broke.

They had practice together after school tonight. Ayato would get him in the locker rooms. Make a scene of it. Have some fun. It may only be a temporary way to relieve his anger, but the thought of it made him shiver with pleasure.

He'd teach Tanaka _exactly_ what happened when you stepped on his territory.


	2. Laito Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laito goes too far.

"This is all in my head. It's all happening in my head."

Laito wasn't sure how many times he muttered the words to himself, over and over. And yet when he turned back to the bathtub, she was still there, motionless, the water blooming red with her blood. _Too much_ blood.

He dropped to his knees beside her and strained his ears for a heartbeat. Usually, he could hear her pulse from several feet away, but right now, there was nothing. Not even a weak _thud_. A new wave of panic rose in him. He'd killed before, more times than he could count. So, why did he feel so scared he could hardly breathe?

It had all started the usual way. He'd wanted to play with Yui, make her get angry at him and watch her face turn red, and what better time to do that than during her bath? He was normally so careful when it came to biting her neck and avoiding the major arteries that ran up the sides, especially knowing how excited her blood got him. Yet the sight before his eyes, was proof that even _he_ made deadly mistakes now and then.

He wanted to take her out of the bath and lay her on the floor, but a voice told him not to touch her. If he kept his distance, he could maintain the illusion that she was alive for just a little longer, even though he knew in his heart that couldn't possibly be so. The taste of blood that lingered in his mouth was starting to make him feel a little sick. The scent filled the air, overly-sweet as it leaked from the side of her neck.

It wasn't the first time he'd gone too far. He doubted it would be the last. But this time, he'd wanted to play with Yui for just a little longer. She'd been fun, resisted him in all the right ways. Too bad it had ended so soon.

With a sigh, Laito collapsed onto the floor and leaned back against the bathtub. His vision started to blur as tears welled up. Strange. He'd never cried over a human before. Anger surged up in him, the urge to leap up and smash apart a piece of furniture overwhelming, but he stopped himself before he could move and allowed the feeling to drain.

He was weak. To say he'd cared for Yui would be too much, but he'd certainly seen her as more than prey, and that had left him vulnerable. Perhaps that was why he'd killed her.

Lowering his head, Laito whispered, "I'm sorry, Bitch-chan."


	3. Reiji Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui meets a ghost from the past.

Yui couldn't believe her eyes.

Of all the people she'd expected to see, _he_ was among the last. Especially not here in this car park at the dead of night.

He stood at the back of the lot, just outside of the areas of light that streamed through the convenience store windows. If something in her head hadn't told her to look left, she probably would've missed him altogether. Now, as they stared at one another, Yui felt a shiver trickle down her spine. She wanted to run away as fast as she could. And yet she knew from experience just how pointless that would be.

Reiji hadn't aged a day in the seven years since she'd left the Sakamaki mansion. His night-coloured hair, pale skin, flawless Victorian-style clothes all matched the man in her memories. Not that she needed reminding. He still appeared in her nightmares sometimes, despite her having done everything she could to move on from that time: cutting her hair short, getting a job as a childminder, even moving out here to the other side of the country. All to escape him and the torment he'd put her through for that year she'd spent under his thumb.

“Yui.” His voice was soft as he walked towards her.

Despite the alarm bells screaming in her head, Yui found she couldn't move. It was as if her body had disconnected from her mind and refused to respond to her commands.

“H-how did you find me?” she finally managed to stammer.

Reiji came to a stop in front of her. She noticed he kept a short distance between them. But then again, that had always been Reiji: politeness on the outside, a monster underneath.

“I always make sure to keep an eye on my possessions, even if they happen to temporarily elude me.”

A flash of rage broke Yui from her stupor. “I'm not your _possession_ anymore, Reiji. I have my own life now.”

Reiji smirked. “I can see you've grown more defiant since last we met. Has all the discipline I poured into you worn off that quickly?”

How typical of him, Yui thought. He still had the gall to make it sound like he'd done her a favour by torturing her.

“So, that's it. You think you can just waltz back into my life, do you? All the pain, your ridiculous discipline over the smallest thing...” She narrowed her eyes. “Get away from me, Reiji. I'm going home.”

She turned to leave, only for a gloved hand to grab her by the wrist.

“Oh, that's where you're wrong, Yui.” Reiji laughed softly. “To you, seven years is a long time, but to us vampires, it's as time has hardly passed at all. Believe me when I say that my desire for you now is as strong as it was back then.”

With a sudden jerk of his arm, Yui flew back into him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, locking her against his chest.

“You're still mine,” he whispered into her hair.

Yui stole a glance over her shoulder. The car park was empty of people, though even if there had been people around, she doubted she'd be able to scream. Her body had seized up again. The feeling of Reiji's hands on her body, his scent, his voice so close to her... All the memories she'd been trying so hard to forget came were flooding back to her again so strongly it made her head spin.

Reiji was right. He hadn't simply come back into her life. He'd never left in the first place.


	4. Laito Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laito wishes things were different.

Another day. Another bad dream. Laito had been getting them more and more recently, he'd noticed. But when he turned over in his bed, the sight that made it all better was waiting for him as always.

He reached out to touch Yui's hair, but stopped before his fingers made contact. In sleep, her face was completely at peace, long eyelashes resting against her cheeks, lips slightly parted as she breathed softly. It was the only time he ever got to see this face, so different from the one she carried with her when she was awake. There was no tension, no fear lingering in her eyes. Just calm.

For a while, Laito just lay there, watching her. Then, finally, her eyes opened.

Sure enough, there was a moment's delay between her waking up and the familiar look of anxiety that flooded her face as she realised who she was next to.

Laito smiled and reached for her hair again, wrapping one of her smooth blonde locks around his finger.

“Is there something you need?” she asked.

The question made Laito pause. Was it not enough just to want to touch her a little like this? Not that he didn't understand her trepidation. After all, he'd trained her to attend to his whims from the moment she'd stepped foot in this mansion. It had taken a lot of effort and a huge amount of resistance on her behalf, but eventually, she'd come to accept that her body existed as nothing more than a vessel to bring him pleasure. Now every advance he made was met with fear, but acceptance. It was easier for her that way.

But still, Laito sometimes wished that she would come to him of her own free will. At times like this, lying in bed together, it was easy to pretend that they were a pair of normal lovers. It made him feel... human. Usually, the thought was repulsive to him, but right now, he almost wished it were so.

“Bitch-chan, come here,” he whispered, rolling onto his back.

She climbed on top of him and rested on his hips beneath the covers.  _Like an obedient little dog,_ Laito thought. There were few things she wouldn't do for him if he commanded her. It had been a game to him for a while, seeing how far he could push and humiliate her. Now, even the act of being close to him like this was enough to send her heart rate pounding.

He lifted his hand and ran it along Yui's naked shoulder, feeling the way she trembled at his touch but taking no pleasure in it. She was utterly broken. All because of him. Once, he'd taken pride in that fact, but now he just felt empty.

He knew his idea of love was unconventional, at best. It had never bothered him. In fact, he enjoyed knowing that he would never be tied down by the chains others called 'love'. His attraction towards Yui had started off as physical, the need to claim her over his brothers and make her his possession. Now that he had that, it seemed that something was missing. The hollowness in her eyes as she stared at him, devoid of anything but fear, filled him with both sadness and frustration.

Could it be that he wanted her to love him? That the shackles of love he'd thrown off all his life had managed to snake their way around his heart, after all?

But of course, he was unworthy of love, especially not from someone like Yui. He was an idiot to believe otherwise.

How could she love him after what he'd done to her?

“Laito, are you okay?”

Yui's voice jarred him from his thoughts. He hadn't realised his emotions had been playing so obviously over his face.

Forcing a smile, Laito grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over so that she was lying against the mattress. The bedframe creaked as he mounted her, his fingers curling around her jaw to force her lips into a kiss.

Once, she would have resisted this kind of behaviour, but now she met him with open legs. Just like before and the time before that, precisely how he'd taught her.

Perhaps, Laito thought, it was better to set aside hopes of things that would clearly never be and simply continue to take. He was good at that.


	5. Subaru Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subaru shows his softer side.

Subaru was in his room when he heard something hard hit the window.

The noise jolted him from the book he'd been reading. With a frustrated sigh, he walked over to the window and looked down.

Something grey was lying on the ground outside, twitching and writhing. He couldn't be sure exactly from the height, but it looked to be some kind of bird.

“Not as if I have anything else to do,” he muttered to himself.

By the time he reached the ground, Yui was already kneeling with the bird in her hands. The smell of blood met Subaru's nose, and he realised that the animal was bleeding from one eye.

Yui looked up at him as he knelt down beside her. Tears filled her eyes. “I saw it fly into the window from the dining room. I think it got confused by the lights.”

Subaru grunted. Why she was getting all soft-hearted over a single stupid bird, he didn't know, but he made sure to keep his voice gentle. “It happens.”

“I know.” As she spoke, Yui's fingers gently stroked the bird's chest over and over, like a mother lulling her child to sleep. For some reason, the image made Subaru's heart clench.

He knew Yui wouldn't be able to feel the slowing pulse that sounded in his ears to know that the animal only had a few seconds left. He watched its movements fall still, its eyelids retract. Then, finally, its heart stopped.

“Give it here,” Subaru muttered, holding out a hand. Yui obeyed. Its head flopped back on its neck uselessly.

Subaru had always been indifferent towards animals. He'd never kept any pets or had any desire to. Yet still, he felt a pang of sadness as he held the little bird's lifeless body in his hands.

He wasn't sure why he did it, but he stood up suddenly and walked over to the greenhouse. “Come on.”

Yui followed him, a frown on her face. But when they reached the greenhouse and Subaru came out with a trowel, her expression softened in understanding.

They buried the bird in the corner of one of the flowerbeds. Yui held the body while Subaru dug out a hole, and then she placed it inside. Before replacing all the soil, she scooped out one of the flowers nearby and placed it on top.

“As a little memento,” she said.

Subaru grimaced. He wasn't sure why he was bothering with all this. To stop Yui crying, he supposed, though a part of him felt like it was the right thing to do, as well. Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. Especially not to her.

As they stood over the makeshift grave, Yui wrapped her arm around his chest.

“Underneath it all, you're just a softie, aren't you?” she said.

Subaru turned his head sharply. He opened his mouth to argue, but ended up sighing instead. His hand grabbed the side of her head and pulled her into him, hoping she hadn't caught the rare flush of colour that rose to his cheeks.

“Idiot,” he muttered.


	6. Reiji Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui learns a lesson.

The branch snapped against the back of Yui's thigh.

She bit her bottom lip to stifle her scream. From somewhere behind her came a soft, low laugh.

“Have you had enough yet?”

Yui held her breath, unsure of whether or not to reply. So far, every time she'd opened her mouth had earnt her a new strike under the under the claim that she was 'talking back'. Then again, he'd asked her a direct question, hadn't he? Surely that required an answer.

Clearly, she hadn't made up her mind fast enough for Reiji's liking, as he smacked her with the makeshift whip again. This time, Yui was unable to hold back her cry. The skin of her bare thighs felt wet; one or more of the wounds he'd given her had probably opened and begun to leak blood. She longed to reach down and press her hands against her legs to alleviate some of the pain, but they'd been tied up to the tree above her head, forcing her to stand on tiptoes.

“Yes, I've had enough,” she whined.

The man's silky voice seemed in direct contrast to the cruelty of his actions. “That's a shame, because I'm far from satisfied that you've learnt your lesson.”

Yui still couldn't remember exactly how she'd ended up in this forest. One minute she'd been alone in Reiji's room. The next, she'd woken up with a heavy head to find herself here, bound and stripped from the waist downwards, her head feeling like it was made of lead. She assumed he'd managed to sneak up on her and drug her, though surely she'd be able to recall at least the last few moments before passing out? It was as if she'd blinked and woken up here.

Reiji appeared in front of her. The moonlight that shone down through the canopy illuminated his face. Like all his brothers, he was utterly flawless in his appearance, though also the one most shrouded in mystery to her. She'd barely seen Reiji since her arrival at the mansion. Unlike the others, who seeked her out when they were bored or thirsting for her blood, he mostly kept his distance, locking himself in his room or watching her from afar. The others didn't speak about him much, either. Ayato had called him a miserable recluse once, while Subaru had told her that he was dangerous enough, she should be glad they hadn't met. But Yui hadn't taken his words to heart. She'd wanted to find out more about Reiji.

So, when she'd found a book he'd left in the dining room, she'd thought it the perfect opportunity to start a conversation. Too bad he'd caught her in the act of returning it to his room and assumed she was trespassing. An action he was doing his hardest to make sure she never repeated.

Yui trembled as he ran the whip up and down her inner thigh. There wasn't a place on her upper legs he hadn't yet struck her. Just the contact the bark made against her skin was enough a new round of tears well up.

With a dissatisfied snort, Reiji said, “Crying again. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” He suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her by the chin and tilted her face up. She didn't want to look at him, and began to resist, until she realised that would likely earn her another round of beating.

“No, Reiji,” she whispered. “I'm sorry.”

His grip on her chin tightened as he jerked her head up, exposing her neck. She knew he'd be able to see the bite marks that peppered her skin after all the times she'd been pinned down recently.

“Offering yourself up to my brothers like this,” muttered Reiji, clicking his tongue in anger. “Have you no shame?”

Yui wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that she'd been bitten by force, but of course, she knew better than that by now. She shook her head.

“Speak _properly_ ,” Reiji snapped, bringing the whip down on her hip one final time. The blow was so hard it split the skin and made Yui shriek.

She slumped against the ropes, the strength drained from her body. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. Every time she thought she'd reached her limit, Reiji managed to squeeze more agony from her. At this rate, she'd end up going mad.

“He warned me about this,” she muttered with shaking lips.

“Hm?” Reiji frowned. “About what?”

An image of Subaru telling her to keep away appeared in Yui's head. “About you.”

For a moment, all was silent. Yui stared at the ground. It was stupid to speak out of turn, but she no longer cared. There was nothing Reiji could do to hurt her more than he already had.

Or so she thought.

With an exasperated sigh, Reiji dropped the branch to the floor. “And here I was thinking that you'd finally learnt some manners.”

Yui didn't realise what was happening until he walked behind her and grabbed her by the hips. A bolt of panic twisted her insides. She tried to struggle, but Reiji's nails sank into her raw flesh, making her scream through gritted teeth.

She heard the sound of a zipper and closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do now but hope that it was quick. Hope that once it was over, Reiji would be finally be finished with her. Though a part of her suspected that was merely wishful thinking.

She'd been warned about him. She hadn't listened.

Now she was going to pay the price.


	7. Laito Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui snaps.

She hadn't meant to do it. The anger had just hit her out of nowhere. Now she over the scattered shards of the table lamp she'd just thrown at Laito, her shoulders shaking.

Laito looked at the remains on the floor with wide eyes. The lamp had narrowly missed his head, smashing instead against the wall behind him. Yui could only imagine the emotions he was feeling. Shock, perhaps. She'd never lashed out at him like that. It wasn't like her. Then again, there was only so much taunting she could take, and today, Laito had crossed a line.

The sudden darkening of his expression told her that she'd done the same.

Yui took a step back. Suddenly, she wanted to be as far away from this room, this man, as possible.

“Stop.” All the playfulness Laito had used to tease her just a few moments ago had drained from him, leaving his voice dangerously low.

The door stood slightly ajar behind Yui. She spun on her heel and lunged for the opening, but Laito was faster. He reached over her head and slammed the door shut just before she could pull it open, blocking off her escape.

“Don't you dare walk away from this,” he snarled into her ear.

Yui flipped around so that her back was against the door, though she quickly realised that it was a mistake. Laito slammed her against the wood, his knee slipping between her thighs, pinning her in place.

Usually, his anger was tinged with a hint of amusement, but right now, he seemed utterly taken by rage. Yui had an idea of why. It wasn't that she'd broken his lamp, or even that she'd tried to run. It was that, for the first time in her life, she'd finally stood up to him. And Laito didn't like it.

Not one bit.


	8. Subaru Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui revisits old feelings.

He was there, just like he'd promised.

Yui took a deep breath before weaving between the tables of the coffee shop. It was strange to see Subaru out in public, even more so in the day like this. But she knew that it added a layer of security: neither would try anything out in the open like this.

Subaru turned as she sat down opposite him, as if he'd been waiting until the last second to look at her. He was wearing a black dress shirt, she noticed, instead of the scruffy crimson one she remembered him favouring.

“Yui,” he muttered, and then he fell silent.

For a while, neither of them said anything. Yui sat and breathed in the smell of coffee grounds and sweet pastries, a combination that usually calmed her down, but today did nothing. The café was mostly empty, though that seemed to make things worse, as she felt like every set of eyes was on them.

At last, she sighed and mumbled, “It's been a while.”

“You can say that again,” said Subaru. A few days short of eight months, in fact, since she'd left the mansion she'd once had the misfortune of calling home.

“How are the others?”

“Do you really care?” snapped Subaru, looking up at her with scarlet eyes.

After a moment's pause, Yui shook her head. If he'd told her that his brothers had all perished in a fire, she doubted she would have shed a tear. Subaru was the only she'd ever cared about, and she wasn't sure she could even claim that anymore.

It was strange how the heart worked, she thought. Back at the mansion, Subaru had been the only one to show her any degree of kindness. She remembered knocking on his bedroom door one night after Kanato had attacked her, and he'd patched her up. Another time, when Laito had twisted her arm so badly it had almost fractured, she'd cried in his lap. They'd shared their first kiss that night. She'd thought it was love at the time, and over the next few months, she'd given him everything.

Now she realised that what she'd mistaken as true love was little more than duty. She'd grown close to Subaru precisely because he'd protected her. In her fear-addled mind, she'd believed that if she didn't give herself up to him, he'd stop saving her from his brothers. It was no different than a business transaction that the pair of them benefitted from.

Although if that was the case, then why was she crying right now?

“Yui.” Subaru placed a large hand on top of her two, clasped together on the table in front of her. Her instincts told her to pull away, but she ignored them, enjoying the moment of warmth despite the coldness of the vampire's skin.

“I loved you,” she whispered.

“And yet you let _them_ get between us.” Subaru's words weren't a question, but a statement. He still blamed her running away solely on his brothers, Yui realised. While that was the main reason, there had been something else eating at her in her final days at the mansion. Something that pained her arguably more than the abuse the Sakamakis had heaped upon her.

She'd become involved with a monster.

Yui shook her head again. Whatever her complicated feelings towards Subaru now, she couldn't deny how she'd felt at the time. She'd tried to put it all behind her since leaving. Bury her emotions along with the trauma she'd sustained. But things rarely worked like that. She'd thought that seeing him again would bring some kind of closure, but all she wanted to do now was curl up against him and cry it all away. Feel a semblance of the safety she'd once gotten from being held in his arms.

She couldn't allow it. Because the moment she did, she knew she'd fall again.

“I'm sorry, Subaru,” she muttered. Her chair scraped against the wooden floor, drawing the attention of a few nearby customers.

Subaru raised a hand and opened his mouth, perhaps to tell her to wait, but Yui didn't want to hear it. Before she could dare herself to look back, she was gone.


	9. Reiji Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji comforts a drunk Yui.

Reiji heard her clumsy footsteps in the corridor long before his door opened.

He didn't need to look at her to know she was inebriated. The smell of rum hung about her like a fog, making his nose wrinkle. She hadn't even bothered to knock.

Reiji ignored her in favour of the books he was reorganising on his shelf as she staggered over. Slim arms assaulted him from behind. Only then did he finally let out a withering sigh.

“And where have _you_ been?” he asked.

Yui paused before slurring, “Just... with the triplets. Well, not all three... Kanato wasn't there.”

Snapping the book in his hands shut, Reiji turned around. He should have known that his idiotic younger brothers were somehow involved in this. He looked down at Yui, who stared at him with wide, glassy eyes.

“You're annoyed at me,” she said, a little sadly.

There was no use talking to her in this state. Even her blood would be useless to him now with all the alcohol circulating inside it. He was in two minds whether to throw her out of his room and lock the door, though he could only imagine that would lead to one of the others preying on her. While such an outcome would be sufficient punishment for drinking herself into this state, he supposed it wasn't entirely her fault. Ayato and Laito could be extremely persuasive, after all.

“Come on,” said Reiji, gesturing towards his bed.

“Oh?” A grin spread across Yui's face. “Are you flirting with me?”

Reiji grimaced. This kind of lewd behaviour didn't suit her at all. Usually, he'd have to punish her for it, but he'd make an exception just this once.

“No, I'm not flirting with you,” he snapped.

Seeing that he wasn't going to persuade Yui to move the normal way, he bent down, picked Yui up by the waist and slung her over his shoulder. Then he carried her over to his bed and laid her down against the pillows. She could stay there for a while, until she sobered up enough to go to her own room or he needed the space – whichever came first.

He was just about to return to his bookshelf, when something grabbed the bottom of his waistcoat.

“Please stay. Just for a little bit,” said Yui.

Reiji pursed his lips, but sat down next to her all the same. That seemed to satisfy her at least a little bit, as she let go of him and shuffled a little closer.

“Ridiculous behaviour,” Reiji muttered, though he couldn't help but reach down and brush a lock of hair from her eyes that had managed to fall down. His hand lingered in her hair for a moment.

“I'm sorry for being such an idiot.” Yui's voice was little more than sleepy mumble. It seemed that lying down was quickly taking an effect on her. “I just... wanted to see you.”

Her words gave Reiji pause. They were probably mere drunk talk, an over-emotional response from someone who wasn't used to drinking spirits, but he felt a slight pull at his heart all the same. He couldn't remember the last time someone had spoken to him like that. It felt... strange. In a good or bad way, he couldn't quite tell.

With a sigh, he ran his hand through her hair again. He'd stay here just a little while longer, to make sure that she fell asleep safely. Anything could happen after downing so much alcohol, after all. Yui's fingers brushed his trousers, and then she curled them into the material. The gesture reminded him of a baby gripping onto its mother's hand as it drifted off to sleep.

Just a little while longer.


	10. Yuma Mukami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuma sleeps in.

With a groan, Yuma rolled onto his back. A thin sheen of sweat stuck his hair to his forehead, his body still shaking as he recovered from the climax that had just ripped through him. At his side, Yui made a small noise.

“What's that?” he panted. Like him, she was sweating. It was a hot summer night, after all, but more than that, they'd been together like this from sunset. Now it was midnight, and Yuma had no intention of getting up.

He slid a hand under Yui's waist and pulled her into him. She felt so small in his arms, so fragile. Several times tonight, he'd had to physically stop himself from being too rough with her for fear he'd end up snapping her in half with his strength. Not that Yui seemed to mind. The bruises that bloomed across her pale skin, matching up with the spread of his fingertips, were a token of the hours they'd already spent together.

Yui placed a hand on his chest and lifted her head up to press her lips against his. Like all those that had come before, the kiss was heated with a touch of sweetness underneath. Yuma cupped the back of her neck with his hand and pulled her closer so that the majority of her weight was balanced on his torso.

In all his years, he couldn't remember ever feeling like this about another person. He'd hesitate to call it love; to him, love was a purely human emotion used to cover up more carnal instincts. Rather, he _craved_ Yui. Her body, her blood, her mind. He'd make all of it his again and again, until she was begging him for more.

A low moan escaped Yui's lips as they broke apart. Despite having only just reached release minutes before, he could feel himself growing hard again. Yui reached down and stroked him gently.

“Yuma,” she whispered, still a little breathless with exertion. “I don't know if I can... You already broke me.”

Clicking his tongue, Yuma grabbed her by the hips and positioned her so that she was straddling him. His fingertips ran up the inside of her thigh, slick with their shared arousal. He couldn't hold back any longer. The need to enter her manifested itself as a physical ache that made him tremble.

“What are you talking about?” he muttered, lips curling into a smile. “You're still moving, aren't you?”

He dug his fingertips into the side of her arse, causing her to give out a sharp cry of pain.

She didn't know what it meant to be truly broken. No matter. Yuma was happy to teach her.


	11. Kou Mukami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kou goes swimming.

The evening sun shone down, dying both the sky and the water of the swimming pool a warm orange. As Kou's head broke the surface, he spotted a figure reatreating to the side.

“Where are you going?” he called, running a hand through his blond hair. With the water sticking it to his skin, it almost reached his shoulders.

Yui probably hadn't heard him, as she didn't reply. Kou swam over to her and held onto the side of the pool where she now sat, propped up on his bare arms.

“Had enough?” he asked with a grin.

“Just taking a break.” Yui squeezed a stream of water from her hair before brushing it out over the back of her head. She looked so beautiful in the evening light, the water sparkling on her pale skin around her bikini.

Kou was glad his were the only eyes on her. After all, one of the many benefits of being an idol with too much money was the ability to hire out public facilities like this for private use on a whim. He couldn't bare the thought of sharing this space with anyone else right now, human or vampire, man or woman.

Yui paused as if she'd just thought of something. “Are you sure you're okay out here?”

It took a moment for Kou to realise what she was talking about. He laughed softly. “Of course. The sunlight barely has any effect on me. I'm not like the vampires from fairytales.”

That wasn't the entire truth, of course. Ever since they'd stepped outside, he'd felt slightly drained. It was nothing serious, just a slight dulling of his senses that were usually so acute under the moonlight. He'd get them back the moment night fell. This wasn't the first time he'd stepped out under the sun after being turned.

Yet despite his assurance, Yui still frowned. Kou couldn't help but laugh again at her expression. Usually, he felt a stab of irritation when she didn't believe him, but he was in too good a mood for that today.

Pushing himself along the side of the pool, he rested his head against her legs. The scent of her skin drifted up to him, sweet and feminine beneath the acrid bite of the chlorine. He suddenly pictured himself biting into her. The thought of her blood dripping down her thighs, blossoming as it hit the water, became an all-too vivid image in his head.

“Kou... are you okay?”

Breaking from his trance, Kou raised his head and looked up at Yui. Her eyes were wide with concern.

Instead of answering, he smiled, wrapped his arms around her waist and kicked off from the side, dragging her away with him. She hit the surface with a loud splash.

They emerged from the water in a mess of tangled limbs, Yui coughing and spluttering while Kou laughed. The impact had been enough to jolt him from his thoughts. He wrapped his arms around Yui and held her to his chest as he kicked hard enough to keep the pair of them afloat.

“You're an idiot,” Yui choked out.

“True,” said Kou, planting a kiss against her forehead. “But I'm _your_ idiot.”


	12. Subaru Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subaru remembers.

“Subaru?”

The man turned to the small figure standing in his doorway. “What?”

“I just thought I'd...” She stepped forward a little and peered into the room. “Is that vodka?”

Subaru tutted and raised the almost empty bottle to his lips. “Sticking your nose in as usual, I see,” he muttered before downing another shot.

“But it's seven in the evening—”

“So?” he snapped. His head spun and his vision was blurred, but he could still pick up the concern in Yui's expression. He didn't want to see her right now. He didn't want to see anyone. And yet here she was, fretting over him as if she were his mother.

_His mother..._

It was always the same. The episodes weren't so common anymore – twice a year if he was lucky, three at the most – but still they came. They began with flashbacks: random scenes from his childhood, nights spent alone under the stars or times he'd been forced to interact with his older brothers, usually at mealtimes. Nothing abnormal or particularly unpleasant.

But then _she'd_ appear, and everything would go wrong. Memories of his mother, over and over, pelting his mind like a hail that never ended. At that point, the only thing that could calm his head was alcohol, and lots of it. That he'd wake up the next day with a splitting headache, probably covered in his own vomit, was worth it if it meant distracting himself from _her_.

Yui would never be able to understand that. So why was she trying to butt into his business like this?

Her hand brushed his shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts. He hadn't noticed her walk over to the bed.

“Oi, stop that,” Subaru snarled, swatting her wrist away. She took a step back, clearly shocked at his reaction.

“I-I'm sorry,” she stammered.

He was about to tell her to fuck off, when a better sidea came into his head. There was one more way to distract himself from his troubles, he supposed.

Dropping the bottle to the floor, Subaru snatched up Yui's arm and dragged her into him. He caught her waist with his other hand. A gasp escaped her mouth at the sudden rough treatment, though she knew better than to protest. By now, she must have been familiar with what was coming.

Subaru felt tempted to bite straight down on her neck, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. He wanted to _hurt_ her, partially as punishment for bothering him, but also because deep down, he wanted to inflict as much pain on her as he was himself. After all, he could be just as selfish and petty as his brothers when he wanted to.

He grabbed hold of Yui's shirt with both hands and pulled it apart. The material split down the middle, revealing pale breasts and soft, pink nipples. It made sense that she hadn't put on a bra, since she'd just woken up.

 _Good,_ Subaru thought. He couldn't be bothered to deal with fiddly shit right now.

Gripping her back, he pulled Yui into him and bit into her right breast. She tensed, trying and failing to hold in a small cry of pain. Subaru grunted. Perhaps it was a side effect of the alcohol, but the blood that flowed into his mouth tasted sweeter than usual. Thicker. He bit down more forcefully, sinking his fangs in so deeply that he could feel his other teeth graze her flesh. Yui's answering moan made him shiver.

Despite the tension in her body, the way her fingers dug into his scalp, she didn't fight back. It was as if she could sense the anger inside him. As if she felt sorry for him and knew that letting him take her blood was the only way he'd make himself feel better.

Well, Subaru didn't need her pity. He pulled out of her sharply and shoved her backwards. She fell against the floor with a grunt.

The vodka bottle lay on the floor. Thankfully, only a little had leaked out. Subaru picked it up and downed the remainder in one, grimacing at the acrid taste after the sweetness of Yui's blood.

How he wished to have a mother to cry to. Someone's arms to wrap around him and tell him it would all be okay. That it wasn't his fault she was gone.

But that would never happen. He was alone in this world. Alone to carry the burden of his existence and what his birth had done to the person he cared about most.

He lowered his head to his hands and gritted his teeth.

What a mess he was.


	13. Kou Mukami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kou enjoys a winter night with Yui.

“I wonder how long it's going to last,” said Yui, staring up at the snow falling from the sky.

From behind her, Kou laughed softly. “Who knows?” It had already been snowing for a day, and from the looks of it, there was no chance of a halt anytime soon. The flakes drifted down from the grey sky, coating the world with a thin layer of white that crunched gently beneath his boots.

They stood on a wooden bridge overlooking the river. While they weren't the only ones around – a few couples like them dotted the riverside path further along - they might as well have been. Right now, the only thing that matters in Kou's eyes, more beautiful than the weather by far, stood in front of him.

A smile decorated Yui's face as she leaned onto the bridge railing and looked out across the river. A scarf circled her neck and the cold had dyed her cheeks a frosty pink. She looked picture perfect, like an ice princess from a fairytale. A part of Kou wanted to stay like that, watching her, for as long as he could. But then instinct took over, and he walked up.

Yui jumped as his arms circled her waist from behind. He held her tightly, her scent and warmth drifting up to him. A few flakes of snow stuck to her scarf. Kou brushed them off with a gloved hand before noticing something.

“Is that my hoodie?” he asked, dipping his fingers beneath the scarf to touch the familiar material he'd spotted.

Yui stiffened. “I'm sorry. I saw it lying around, and, well... It smelt like you.”

Touched by the gesture, Kou laughed and pushed his lips up to her ear. “You know I'm going to have to punish you for that, right?”

He didn't have to look at Yui's face to know that her eyes had grown wide. The sudden quickening of her pulse and the way her breath hitched in her throat told him that. Despite the closeness of their relationship, he was still, at his core, a hunter. He couldn't help but enjoy making her scared every now and then, even if he had no intentions of following through on his threat this time.

At least, not in the way she thought.

Kou flipped her around so that she was facing him, her back to the railing. One of his hands dropped to the top of her leg, pinning her hips to his. Then he leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

He only held it a few seconds before pulling away, but it was enough to restore some colour to Yui's frozen face. She turned her head away with embarrassment, though it was mere seconds before her eyes returned to him.

“We're in public,” she muttered.

“I know.” Kou man gave her a playful smile. “Is it so bad to want to show off what's mine? Besides...” He leaned in and nipped the top of her ear. “I said I was going to punish you, didn't I, M Neko-chan?”

He'd let her get off easy. This time.


	14. Reiji Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji gets jealous.

Reiji had always found that he learned most things in life not by getting directly involved, but by watching from afar.

Tonight was no different. Sat on the park bench, he kept his eyes fixed on Yui, who stood before the food truck at the edge of the grass. While she was a little too far for him to hear the exact words of her conversation, he could pick up the enthusiasm in her voice, the smile that pulled at her lips as she spoke to the vendor on the other side of the window. He was an older man, probably more than twice her age. Chances were he had a wife, a family. So, why did Yui make an effort to puff her chest out in his direction, brush her fingers against his as she handed him the money Reiji had given her? It was as if she were trying to irritate him deliberately.

She returned to the bench with a grin on her face. The smell of fried meat drifted up from the paper tray in her hand.

“Look what I got,” she said, holding the tray in front of Reiji's nose. “ _Karaage_. There's a stick for each of us.”

Reiji pursed his lips. “I'm not hungry.”

“Oh?” Yui's expression fell a little. “But you said just a moment ago that you were—”

“I told you I don't want it,” Reiji snapped. He knew he sounded like a petulant child right now, but he didn't care. The fact that Yui dared to act as if everything was normal in front of him made his blood boil.

Cracks had started to appear in her otherwise carefree expression. “I can get you something else, if you'd like. They had coffee, and—”

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Reiji grabbed her by the wrist and wrenched her towards him. The _karaage_ fell to the floor.

“Don't you _ever_ flirt with another man in front of me again,” he whispered into her ear, his words deathly cold. “Do you hear?”

Yui nodded. Reiji could feel her pulse quickening with each second. The sound of it made him wild, knowing that he was the source of her fear, the one that took up the most space in her mind right now.

“Reiji,” she said in a low, shaky voice. “Are you... jealous?”

Hearing the words out loud made him grimace. _Jealous._ It was such an ugly word, though he supposed it befit his situation. To think that he could jealous over someone like Yui... What had the world come to?

With a quick glance around to check that they were alone, Reiji buried his face in the crook of her neck. The scent of her blood permeated her skin. He could already feel the fire stirring within him, scorching his insides. He'd always hated how his kind was bound to its lust for blood, and yet he couldn't hold himself back. It was as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff, the sun hot on his back, daring himself to plunge into the cool water below.

Breathing in sharply, Reiji bit down on the side of Yui's neck. His fangs penetrated her skin with little resistance, and then her blood was flowing into his mouth, hot and sweet and beautiful. He curled his fingers around her arms and held her tightly, relishing the way she trembled against him, like a baby animal in the eyes of a predator. This dominance was something he lived for, even more than the taste itself. It was all-consuming. Addictive.

Reiji pulled back with a gasp. Blood stained his lips and coated the inside of his throat, flowing inside him like hot liquor. He needed more. Wrapping his hand in Yui's hair, he bit her again, just below the jaw. The pain must have been stronger this time, as she gave a small yelp. The faint scent of salt in the air told him that tears had begun to leak from her eyes. No matter. It was no less than she deserved for making him feel such ugly emotions.

She was his and his only. He'd teach her that as many times as he had to until she learned.


	15. Carla Tsukinami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui gives Carla a makeover.

Carla woke up to the feeling of something brushing the back of his neck.

He rolled over and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the person lying beside him. He must have moved fast, as her eyes widened in shock.

“What are you doing?” he snarled.

Yui opened her mouth to speak, but instead of words, a frail wheezing came out. Only then did Carla realise how hard he was holding her. He loosened his grip a little, but didn't withdraw his hand.

“Come on, out with it,” he snapped. Surely she knew by now how little effort it would take for him to snap her windpipe between his fingers? She should be eager to give him her answer, even if it meant choking it out.

“Y-your hair... wanted... t-t-touch it...” Yui thrashed beneath him, the bed shaking beneath her movements. “C-Carla!” Her fingers clawed at his hand, though they were about as effective against him as a moth ramming itself over and over into a window was of breaking it.

At last, Carla pulled his hand back. Yui shuddered as the air rushed into her lungs.

“How ridiculous,” he muttered. “Why would you want to touch my hair?”

It took a few seconds for Yui to find the strength to speak again. “I'm sorry,” she gasped. “I wasn't thinking.”

Carla tutted softly. She may not have answered his question properly, but it was a satisfactory enough answer. Humans were strange, after all, with their little shows of affection here and there. It wasn't rare for Yui to want to touch him or lay her head on his chest while they slept together. He supposed she truly held feelings for him, even if he barely valued her beyond her blood and body.

Rolling onto his side so that his back was to her, Carla sighed. “It's fine. Do as you please.”

A pause. “Really?”

“Yes. So long as you don't bother me afterwards.”

He lay still as Yui reached for his hair again. Unsurprisingly, she seemed hesitant, but then her fingers were running through his silver locks. Carla had never bothered to do much with his hair. It was the main reason he let it grow long, unlike Shin, who went through the trouble of cutting it short every month. So, while it felt unusual to have her playing with his hair, he admitted that it didn't feel completely unpleasant. Not that he'd ever say that out loud.

After a few minutes, Yui sat up. “There we go. All done.”

 _Done?_ Carla thought.

At Yui's gesture, he pushed himself up on his elbows. She slipped from the bed and walked over to the dressing table. Carla's eyes admired her naked form, the bruises that bloomed on her shoulder blades and the bite marks on her nape a sorded leftover from the night they'd shared.

She found what she was looking for, a gold-gilded hand mirror, and returned. Carla looked back at his reflection as she held it up in front of him. The hair that usually framed his face had been pulled back into a braid that fell to the bed. She'd secured the end with a clip from her own hair.

Carla snorted. He couldn't say it was a look that suited him, but the anxious expression on Yui's face told him she was awaiting his opinion.

“It's fine,” he muttered.

A little of the tension drained from Yui's cheeks. “Do you really think so?”

A slight smile pulled at Carla's lips as he unclipped the end of the braid and massaged out the hair until his usual mane had returned. There was a satisfaction in indulging her fantasies every now and then. Her happiness was a refreshing change from the pain she experienced so often at his hand.

“Yes,” he said. “Just don't do it ever again.”


	16. Subaru Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Subaru doubts Yui's words.

_Lie to me. I don't care what you say, just lie to me. Make me feel okay again._

Those were the words he'd whispered in her ear as he crawled into bed beside her. Now, staring down into Yui's eyes, their bodies entwined beneath the covers, Subaru felt his words returning to him.

_I-I don't know what to say._

A grunt escaped Subaru's mouth as he slammed his hips into Yui's. Her answering cry told him he was probably being too rough, so he slowed his pace, but only a little. She felt so small beneath him, like she would break beneath his strength if he didn't restrain himself.

_Make something up. Tell me you care for me or enjoy my company. Anything._

He'd come to her late, just before dawn, his mind awash with hateful thoughts. Hate for his brothers, his parents, but most of all, himself. He was useless. Unloveable. While he knew that empty words of love did nothing to make him feel better in the long run, he needed them now, even if it meant he could pretend that everything was fine for a few moments.

 _But I_ do _enjoy your company, Subaru. I care for you, too._

Sweat bound their skin together. It glistened on Yui's neck, so pale and smooth around the faint scars his fangs had left there. Subaru lowered his head and planted a kiss at the base of her jaw, earning himself another cry, though this one was softer and tinged with pleasure. The sound of it sent shivers down his back.

_You care for me as well, don't you?_

He'd found it hard to answer that one. Their relationship was based on need, after all. He longed for Yui's companionship as much as he did her blood. As for her, he wasn't sure what it was that she got from him. Protection, perhaps? It must have been something, otherwise she wouldn't have offered her body to him so readily.

Or maybe she was just scared of him. Scared of what he would do to her should she refuse. Subaru knew himself just how forceful he could be. How many times had he pushed her into a corner to suck her blood, pinned her down against the bed and taken her while she wept against the pillow? The words coming out of her mouth were lies. He had no doubt about that. And yet he allowed himself to believe them as if they were spoken from the heart.

Seeing his hesitation, she'd shaken her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.

_It's okay. I know you do._

Another lie. Clearly, she was as much of an idiot as he was.

Subaru slipped a hand beneath her knee and pushed her leg up, allowing him to thrust into her deeper. She tilted her head back and whimpered through closed lips. Again, he wondered if he was hurting her, but the thought was becoming less and less important by the second as his release began to build at the base of his stomach.

He'd pushed her down on the bed then and kissed her. Everything in his mind had become a blur, the need to make her his a burning ache he could no longer ignore.

Only then had she whispered the ultimate lie. He'd let it fill him, pushing out his doubts while simultaneously leaving him hollow. Her lips mouthed it now in sync with the thoughts that gripped his mind. Those three dead words.

_I love you._


	17. Shin Tsukinami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui tends to an injured Shin.

The door slammed shut. Yui looked up from the book she was reading to see a familiar figure stagger into the room. Straight away, she could tell something was wrong. His steps were all off, and his face was twisted into a grimace.

Seeing her expression, Shin laughed. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Clearly he was trying to hide something, but making a bad show of it.

When he turned around to close the door, Yui saw what it was.

Long red streaks stained his white shirt. His whole back was practically soaked. Yui's heart lurched. “Is that blood?”

“What, this?” Shin looked over his shoulder, as if it he'd only just become aware of his injuries. “I guess. But it doesn't really matter. I—”

“Shin, you're bleeding!”

Before she could stop herself, Yui was on her feet and guiding him over to the bed. He winced as he flopped down onto the edge.

“I'm fine,” he insisted, though he didn't stop her from unbuttoning the front of his shirt and peeling it off.

His back was a mess of cuts, the flesh torn and ridged from shoulders to waist. Yui's breath hitched in her throat. “What happened?”

Shin gave a short laugh. She could tell he was doing his best to mask the pain he was in, though she couldn't tell why. While he'd always guarded his pride like a wild dog protecting a fresh kill, this level of bravado seemed unnecessary.

“Just a fight,” he muttered. “Don't start making a fuss. It'll heal soon.”

Instead of arguing, Yui walked to the bathroom and returned with a damp hand towel she'd run under the hot water tap. She sat down on the bed again behind Shin and held it ready over his back.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Do it,” he snapped.

Yui did as instructed, dabbing the towel at the top of the leftmost wound. Shin arched his back a little and sucked air through his teeth. “Fuck, that hurts more the second time around.” The laugh that fell from his mouth was laced with anguish.

“I'm sorry,” muttered Yui. While she was trying hard to be gentle, the way the blood clung to the open cuts meant she had to press harder every now and then to wipe it off. The metallic, slightly sweet smell of dead flesh turned her stomach the longer she stared at it.

Without warning, Shin repositioned himself on the bed. Yui's fingers slipped, and one of her nails sank into a wound. Shin gasped, growled and twisted around.

His open palm met Yui's face so hard it knocked her off the bed. She hit the floor shoulder-first, the air escaping her lungs in a sharp cry. She looked up to see a figure looming over her. His one visible eye burned with something between hatred and shame.

It was that hint of shame that made her realise, all too late, why he was on edge. The next words out of his mouth served as confirmation.

“It was Carla. Do you get it now, idiot?”

Yui nodded violently. She got it. The pain in Shin's voice, the tremble of his lips, the way he clenched and relaxed his fists, as if deciding whether to follow up his slap with a punch. All of it was indicative of a man who lived in the shadow of his older brother, whose rage was merely a symptom of knowing he would always be second best, no matter how hard he tried. Yui had seen it in Shin before, and more often than not, she was the one he ended up taking it out on.

She got it, all right.

A part of her wanted to ask what it was that had caused Carla to ravage his brother the way he had. But as Shin turned and stormed out of the room, Yui realised that perhaps it was wise to bite her tongue. Some things were better left a mystery, after all.


	18. Shu Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shu receives an unexpected gift.

Shu was asleep in the living room, stretched out across his favourite sofa beneath the grandfather clock, when he heard the door open.

He knew without opening his eyes who the figure was. If the short, slightly anxious breaths weren't enough of a giveaway, then the shuffling steps confirmed it. He kept absolutely still – something he'd managed to perfect over the years – and hoped that it would be enough to send her away again.

But it didn't. Within seconds, he sensed her standing over him. Damn, humans were so _noisy_ up close. Her heartbeat reminded him of a little bird flitting around a cage, all too loud to his sensitive ears.

“Shu?” Yui whispered.

When he didn't answer, she leaned over him more. She'd probably already realised he was awake, and was weighing up whether it was worth it to disturb him further.

Unable to hold back an exasperated sigh, Shu mumbled, “What?”

“Oh.” Yui paused. “Did I wake you?”

 _Idiot,_ Shu thought. Not only did she have the audacity to disturb him, but now here she was playing dumb.

In one swift move, he reached up, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her onto him. She landed on his chest, and Shu took the opportunity to pin her down, one hand wrapped in her hair to hold her face above his. For a moment, he did nothing but stare into her large, rosy eyes, relishing in the fear that was building there.

“Yes, you did,” he said slowly at last. “And now I want to hear your reason.”

The bird had begun to throw itself against the walls of its cage. “I...” Yui's lips quivered. As if remembering something, she dug a hand into her pocket and took out a small box. “It's for you.”

“Hm?” The gesture took Shu off-guard so much, he let go of her hair, allowing her to find a more comfortable position on top of him. He took the box from her and turned it over in his hands. Straight away, he could tell it was expensive, with gilded edges and the make of a designer he hadn't heard of before on the front.

“What is it?”

Yui gave a small smile. “If you open it up, you'll see.”

Curious now, Shu did as he was told. Lifting the lid revealed a gold chain inlaid with small blue jewels. While it was obvious that the jewels were made of glass and the chain wasn't actual gold, the whole piece was, admittedly, quite beautiful.

Yui leaped into an explanation straight away: “I wanted to save up for something special, so I did some chores for Reiji to earn money. Someone told me it was your birthday a few weeks ago, and I felt bad for not getting you anything.”

Shu turned his head back down to the bracelet again. It seemed strange to him that she'd even care about his birthday when neither he nor any of his brothers ever bothered. After so many years of living, the years gradually blended together, and celebrating the passing of yet one more always proved to be more of a bother than it was worth.

“Why go through the trouble of something like this?” he muttered.

“I was sad that nobody seemed to care about your birthday. I thought something you could wear would make you happy and, well...” Yui turned her eyes down as colour rose to her cheeks. “I want to see you happy.”

What a predictably human response, Shu thought. Still, he couldn't help but feel strangely touched by the gesture. Not to mention the thought of Reiji giving Yui money for chores, clearly unaware of the fact that they would be going towards a gift for him, made him want to snort.

“You like it, don't you?” Yui's tone was laced with worry.

Placing the box on the floor by the side of the sofa, Shu made a low noise. “Mm.”

He could practically feel the tension drain from Yui's face. He reached up and ran a thumb along her jawline, enjoying the way her heart started to race again at his touch. It may not have been _entirely_ worth waking up for, but Shu was grateful for the effort all the same.

You might even have said he was happy.


	19. Reiji Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yui fights back.

“Ridiculous.”

For what felt like the tenth time, Reiji lifted the wooden spoon from the pan and watched the sauce drip back down in clumps.

“I'm sorry,” said Yui behind him.

“'Sorry' doesn't fix this mess, does it?” Reiji's lips twisted in disgust as he dropped the spoon into the pan. According to Yui, she'd only left it for a minute while searching in the cupboard for some spices, though with the heat as high as she'd made it, the short period of time had been more than enough for the bottom of the mixture to burn against the pan. An amateur's mistake, through and through.

He turned to see her staring at her feet. Although her face was angled in a way where he couldn't completely see her expression, the scent of her fear was palpable. Good. He'd trained her well enough to know that a punishment was coming, at least. His mind ran through his usual repertoire of discipline methods. He considered forcing her to stand there and eat all the burnt food she'd wasted, but the image of her spooning sauce into her mouth, probably making a mess and crying in that pathetic manner she always did, was unsavoury enough that he decided not to bother.

“Throw it away,” he snapped with a wave of his hand. “You can scrub the pan clean, too. Then get out of my sight.”

Reiji couldn't tell if Yui was glad he hadn't gone for a more drastic punishment or not. Making sure to keep her eyes from meeting his, she nodded, picked up the pan and began to scrape its contents into the bin.

“I'm sorry I'm not enough for you.”

The words came as a shock to Reiji, who frowned. “What was that?”

“I try so hard all the time. I just wanted to surprise you with dinner, but I ruined even that.” Yui's voice shook slightly, as if she were on the verge of tears. But there was a frustration in her tone as well, a roughness in the way she hacked at the bottom of the pan with the spoon.

“Yes, you did,” said Reiji, allowing his frown to morph into the smallest hint of a smile. For all his success at breaking Yui into the subservient young woman that stood before him, he secretly liked it when her despair showed through like this. It just gave him an excuse to carry on improving her.

Once most of the black layer had been removed, Yui took the pan over to the sink and ran the hot water tap. Still, she refused to look at him.

“But you still won't accept me, will you?”

Reiji raised an eyebrow. How bold of her to say that, when he'd taken her under his wing, expended his time and effort to turn her into a better woman than the miserable creature who'd turned up on the mansion doorstep all those months ago.

“Not as you are,” he said. “You know already that I have little desire for imperfect things.”

The next words out of Yui's mouth were so quiet that even Reiji missed them. He watched the water fill up the pan, the wisps of steam that rose from the surface.

“Will I ever reach perfection?”

What a strange question, Reiji thought. With the kind of mistakes she still insisted on making, he doubted such a thing were possible. He decided to be honest.

Yui's fingers tightened around the handle of the pan as he answered his question. Her chest rose and fell in a deep breath, and she raised her chin a little. It was the only warning Reiji got.

The pan whipped around in her hand, sending the water flying. Most of it hit the wall behind Reiji, but a good amount splashed against his chest and neck. Clearly, she'd been aiming for his face. He clawed at his shirt, reeling from the boiling water that sank beneath the material and seared his skin.

Yui was already retreating from him. Reiji watched her through blurry eyes. He could catch her if he wanted to. The pain was excruciating, but if he really put in the effort, he'd be able to intercept her before she reached the door. Yet he didn't. Was it the shock of her retaliation that put him off? She accepted his words with little resistance nowadays, so to say that her snap caught him off guard was an understatement.

As she reached the door, Yui turned and shouted, in a trembling voice, “Perhaps you can see what it's like to be imperfect for a few hours, Reiji.” Then she was gone.

Alone now, Reiji stumbled to the tap and let it run cold before dipping his hand underneath and pressing it to his collar. A gasp fell from his lips as the water dripped across his scorched skin. He could tell without looking that his chest was a mess. The skin felt too sensitive, papery, like it was peeling from his flesh.

Yui's final words repeated themselves in his head. He'd never claimed to be perfect. Deep down, he was a monster, no better than his brothers, even if they were more... _open_ with their behaviour. Just because Reiji demanded perfection from Yui didn't mean he thought of himself as possessing it.

And he was fine with that.

His shoulders began to shake. The next thing he knew, he was laughing softly to himself. He'd give Yui a few more minutes to run, let her think she'd gotten away. Then he'd spend teach her exactly what happened when she lashed out at him. It would take a few hours – the whole night, even, They had a _lot_ to get through, after all.


	20. Ayato Sakamaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayato makes a mistake.

Ayato still couldn't believe his eyes.

One moment, he'd been pinning Yui to the wall, about to sink his fangs into those pale shoulders she liked to parade around in front of him; the next, he was staring down at the hilt of a knife protruding from Yui's stomach.

It had all happened so fast. The moment he'd seen the blade in her hand, he'd grabbed it without thinking and shoved it into her at full force. Now that his senses had returned, he was beginning to feel like he'd made a mistake.

A _big_ mistake.

He caught her before she slumped to the floor. Her eyes rolled back in her head, her face twisted in wordless agony.

“Oi, Chichinashi.” He shook her in his arms. His eyes travelled between her face to the knife and back again. “Quit fucking around and answer me.”

At his order, Yui opened her mouth, but the only sound that escaped was a strangled gasp. Ayato bit his lip. _She'd_ been the one to pull a knife on him. What else had she expected?

He could feel the strength leaving her body by the second. By the time Ayato had laid her against the ground, she was almost completely limp. He knelt beneath her and held her shoulders in his arms, shaking her as if doing so would force the life back into her.

“It was an accident,” he whispered. The words were as much of an attempt to convince himself as Yui. “I would never intentionally...”

He stopped himself before he could finish that sentence. Oh, but he _would_ do it intentionally. How many times had he threatened to mutilate Yui, waved a blade in front of her eyes while drinking up the look of fear in her eyes? And yet now that he'd actually done it, everything seemed... wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Ayato felt sick.

He placed a hand on the knife hilt, ready to pull it out, but Yui's cry of anguish stopped him. Blood was starting to well up around the wound. The scent of it drifted up to him, its usual alluring sweetness only intensifying the nausea that was building up in his gut. There was less blood than he'd expected, which surprised him, until he realised that the blade was probably the only thing keeping it inside her. That was good, wasn't it? Blood loss would make her weaker. And it wasn't like he'd stabbed her in the heart or anything vital. People usually recovered from stomach wounds, didn't they?

So, why was she getting weaker?

He raised his head and looked around the corridor. Where was Reiji when he needed him? The four-eyes was always sticking his nose into other people's business, except for when he was _actually_ useful. It didn't even have to be Reiji. At this point, Ayato would have been grateful for any of his brothers to walk down the corridor, just to give him some guidance. Tell him what do. Anything.

“Aya...to...”

The sound of Yui whispering his name brought his attention back to her. It seemed to take all her effort just to move her lips.

“You're fine, Chichinashi,” he muttered, taking her hand and holding it tightly. “You'll pull through this.” Lies, all of it.

For what felt like the final time, she turned her eyes to Ayato. It could have been his imagination, but he sensed a hint of accusation in her stare that took him off guard. He couldn't help himself from snapping, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yui didn't respond. Or maybe she didn't hear him. Ayato squeezed her fingers hard. “Oi, answer me. What were you doing carrying a knife 'round with you, anyway?” He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. “But it's my fault, right? I'm the one who stabbed you, after all. I'll get the blame.”

He could already predict his brothers' reactions as they found out what he'd done to the bride they were all supposed to share. He'd be punished for sure. But more than that, he would forever have to live with knowing that he'd wasted this life. Why that bothered him, he didn't know. Yui had never been more than a source of blood, prey for him to tease and hunt and drain as his moods dictated. In time, she'd be replaced by another bride, just as she served as replacement for the one who'd come before. Ayato had never cared about any of them.

Why, then, did his eyes feel wet?

He lifted Yui's top half and hugged her to his chest. Her head threatened to fall back, but he caught it and pressed her into his shoulder with a shaking hand. “Chichinashi... Just hold on. Yui... F-fuck. Don't do this to me...”

Everything was his fault. It always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we've reached the end! We started with an Ayato and ended on one. Twenty mini fics, none of which would have been possible without my followers here on AO3 and Tumblr. Thank you so much to everyone who has read, commented on or sent in ideas. If you haven't already done so, make sure to check out my Tumblr page. I often run requests there, so if you have an idea for a fic or scenario you want to read, feel free to get in contact. <3


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